The Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance has warned that the cost to the exchequer of the proposed ban on smoking in the workplace could be as high as €944m per annum.
According to a report produced for the IHIA by A&L Goodbody Consulting, which draws on the experience in the US and Canada, a 5% drop in sales in the hospitality sector could result in 10,700 redundancies.
The worst case scenario, a 30% drop in sales would lead to the loss of 64,200 jobs.
The IHIA is calling on the Government to invest in anti-smoking campaigns, aimed at children and teenagers, instead of the proposed blanket ban.
However, the trade union Mandate, which supports the introduction of smoke free workplaces, has dismissed the IHIA claims as 'groundless scaremongering'.
It said that objective economic evidence has shown that smoke-free workplaces have either a neutral economic impact, or in some cases have even helped business.
The Irish Cancer Society has also dismissed the claims, saying that contrary to what the IHIA has said, New York City has gained 10,000 jobs in bars and restaurants since the ban on smoking was introduced there in March 2003.
The Department of Health has dismissed the claims of the IHIA as 'wildly speculative'.
